Demand for jute bags losing steam

The arrival of leno bags has sounded the death knell for traditional jute bags.

Jute is gradually losing one traditional market: Cheaper substitutes like leno bags (a kind of plastic bag made from polypropylene) are widely being used for potato packaging this year.

According to rough estimates by the West Bengal Cold Storage Association, out of the nearly 10 crore bags to be used in for the potato packaging in cold storages this year, about 6 crore will be leno bags.

"This year, the market is flooded with not only supplies from local manufacturers of leno bags, but also from those in places like Ahmedabad, Delhi and Mumbai. The reason being, in Hessian bags, potatoes start decaying after a certain point of time due to the high moisture-absorption nature of jute. There is no such risk in leno bags. Also, the market price of a leno bag is about Rs 2 less than a Hessian sack, each of which costs about Rs 10, said Patit Paban Dey, vice-president of West Bengal Cold Storage Association.

Last year's prolonged strike in jute mills during the potato harvesting season had triggered large scale use of leno bags in the state. Of the 8 crore bags used last year in cold storages, about 3 crore were leno bags, with the rest being old gunny bags.

Jute is losing its traditional market, admits Sanjay Kajaria, chairman of the Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA).

"The plastic industry always wanted to tap the potato packaging market. Last year's jute mill strike gave them this opportunity. The farmers should understand that jute has been a time-tested packaging material," said Kajaria.

Recently, the association in a letter to West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, had urged the government to take steps to persuade farmers to use jute bags, he informed.

"Jute is gradually losing its market. Unless the industry comes out with cheap substitutes, it will be difficult of for the jute industry to sustain itself in the state," admits Binod Kispotta, the jute commissioner of the government of India.